Best laptop brands Acer laptops
About Acer laptops
Acer has long been a big name in the laptop world and has a number of ranges - the Acer Aspire range, the Aspire Ethos range and the TimelineX. It also has an ultrabook range - the Aspire S series - of super slim and light models.
In our latest survey, Acer was the second most-owned brand - more than one in 10 of Which? members with a laptop has one. The average spent on an Acer laptop was £450, less than the average price spent overall.
Find out how Acer laptops rated in our lab in our Acer laptop reviews.
Acer laptops - the Which? verdict
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Testing Acer laptops
Acer's laptops generally score average or above for overall performance and screen quality, though sound quality from the built-in speakers tends to be more hit and miss. However, in general we've found that most Acer models offer good specifications and features at a reasonable price.
The models we have on test range from a very affordable £360 for laptops in its basic Aspire range to around £1,000 for its ultrabooks.
Acer's laptop ranges
Acer has ranges at various prices aimed at different types of user. Like all laptops ranges, it offers a number of models within each, and each model can be available in a number of exact configurations.
The Aspire range from Acer offers some affordable options
- Aspire Series (prices start at around £330) The most affordable range from Acer, these are the models you're most likely to see in your local PC retailer. Aimed squarely at the home user, the Aspire range offers a solid everyday option. Models don't tend to be particularly light and don't promise battery life over five hours, so make good desktop replacement options. Screen size on these laptops tends to be 15.6 inches.
- Aspire M Series (prices start at around £500) These models are sometimes referred to as the 'Timeline' range. The latest models in this range claim battery life in excess of eight hours and are less than an inch thick - so these Ultrabook laptops are intended to be more portable. They offer additional features such as USB 3.0, as well as branded audio from Dolby.
- Aspire S Series (prices start at around £600) Another range of Ultrabooks, the S Series models are slim and light. There are the 13mm thick entry-level S3 models, stepping up in price to the slimmer S5 and then touchscreen S7 at the top end. They have added solid state drive (SSD) storage for faster response times.
- Aspire Ethos (prices start at around £900) This range is disappearing - the latest models launched in 2011. Ethos models are aimed at multimedia users and have home entertainment benefits such as an optional Blu-ray disk drive, HDMI connectivity for linking up to a bigger screen and an 'edge-to-edge' display that maximises the space. There's also a detachable remote control on some models.
- Which? laptop reviews - see results on more than 80 models
- How we test laptops - find out what happens in the Which? test lab
- Cheap laptops rated - read reviews of £250 to £500 laptops
